Retail sales in Singapore swung to a 0.4% year-on-year decline in January 2026, as the shift in Chinese New Year (CNY) timing from January to February stripped out a major spending boost compared with a year earlier.

The decline reversed the revised 2.5% growth recorded in December 2025, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Thursday (Mar 5).

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales tumbled 2.8% against December’s 1.8% expansion.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, retail sales rose 6.1%, reversing December’s 2.7% contraction.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 7.1% in January on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, against a decline of 3.4% the month prior.